Inside

the Mind
of a Book Pirate
Winter/Spring, 2017
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Background, Objectives, Methodology
Executive Summary
State of Illegal e-Book Downloading
Deep Dive into Obtaining e-Books via Public/Open
Torrent Sites
Estimating the Size of the Illicit e-Book Market
 E-BOOK PIRACY STUDY

The growing adoption of The objectives for this The survey was
digital formats by study are to understand conducted online using
consumers, students, who is downloading illicit Nielsens sample of past 6
material, how and where months e-book

METHODOLOGY
and professionals has
BACKGROUND

OBJECTIVES
enabled the growth of they are doing it, and purchasers in the Books
illicit downloading and what this might and Consumers survey.
accessing of copyrighted represent to the industry From there purchasers
material produced by in terms of lost sales by were asked about their
publishers. This is costing measuring survey data methods of downloading
US publishers significant against our Books and e-books and a sample of
amounts of lost income. Consumers data. 595* were identified as
having pirated material.

*Sample was weighted based on a profile of illegal

downloaders identified in the Books & Consumers survey
Note: This report highlights the main findings from this study, including noticeable variations by different types of respondents.
There are also opportunities for further analyses against custom targets (i.e. for a specific region, or specific downloader type, etc.).
The more detailed data is available to carry out additional analyses in the Toluna Analytics platform.
3
 EXECUTIVE SUMMERY
The majority of illegal downloaders are 18 34 years old, educated, and
wealthy.
Who are Illegal More than 70% of illegal downloaders have either graduated from college or
Downloaders? have a post college graduate degree.
Illegal downloaders are also slightly more likely to be 30 44 years old and to
have a yearly household income of $60k - $99k.

Roughly 30% of illegal downloaders either obtain their content from friends
via IM, email, or flash drive or from downloading from public/open torrent
How and where sites.
Of the 13 16 e-books these illegal downloaders acquire per year, 3 7 are
do they download? acquired illegally.
4Shared.com is the most popular torrent site to download e-books and fiction
books are the most popular genre to download.

Illegal downloads account for approximately $315 million in lost sales

What are the to the US e-book market per year.
This estimate is based on a number of assumptions that are outlined in the study.
implications in However, this number is ultimately based on self-reported data, which could
lost sales? underestimate the total lost sales to the book industry.

4
 STATE OF
ILLEGAL E-BOOK
DOWNLOADING

5
 WHO ARE ILLEGAL DOWNLOADERS?

GENDER EDUCATION AGE INCOME

Grade School / Some

High School 1% 18 - 29 41%
Under $30k 13%

34%
Graduated High School 10% 30 - 44 47%
$30k - $59k 19%
66%
Some College 17% 45 - 54 6%

$60k - $99k 36%

Male Female Graduated College 40% 55 - 64 4%

Post College Graduate 32% 65+ 3% $100k+ 29%

NPD Piracy Digimarc Report

6 MQ20. Gender / MQ25. Region / SQ1. Age / MQ22. Annual yearly household income
Base: Total Respondents (595)
 ILLEGAL DOWNLOADERS USE MANY METHODS TO ACQUIRE E-BOOKS
On average downloaders use 1.5
Illegal Methods for Acquiring e-Books methods to acquire e-books illegally

31% 31% 30% 27% 27%

Downloaded for free Downloaded for free Obtained from a Acquired from an Obtained from a
from a public/open from a public/open friend via IM, online auction or friend via a closed
torrent site cyberlocker e-mail, or flash drive resale site internal network
(e.g., Pirate Bay) (e.g., Uploaded.net, (e.g., eBay) (e.g., Dropbox)
4Shared.com)

NPD Piracy Digimarc Report

7 SQ3. Which of the following methods have you used to acquire e-books during the last 12 months?
Base: Total Respondents (595)
 BUT THEY ARE ALSO LIKELY TO PURCHASE E-BOOKS LEGALLY
Obtained from a friend via IM, Accessed from a book subscription service with a monthly
e-mail, or flash drive 30% 29% fee (e.g., Scribd, Amazons Kindle Unlimited)
Downloaded for free from a Borrowed from a commercial e-book
public/open cyberlocker 31% 29% lending service (e.g., Google Play, Amazon
(e.g., Uploaded.net, 4Shared.com) Kindle Owners Lending Library)

Acquired from an
Downloaded for free from a
27% online auction or resale site
public/open torrent site 31% (e.g., eBay)
(e.g., Pirate Bay)
Which of the following Obtained from a friend via a
Purchased directly from
a publishers own website 32% methods have you used 27%
closed internal network (e.g.,
Dropbox)

Borrowed from a friend via Kindle,

to acquire e-books Borrowed for no charge from
Nook, or other e-book device- 33% during the last 12 the e-book collection of a
enabled lending 25% public library, school library, or
months? a library to which your
company subscribes
Purchased from an online retailer
(e.g., Amazon, Barnes & Noble, 42% Downloaded from a site
iTunes/Apple) 23% dedicated to out-of-copyright
works (e.g., Gutenberg.org)

NPD Piracy Digimarc Report

8 SQ3. Which of the following methods have you used to acquire e-books during the last 12 months?
Base: Total Respondents (595)
 COMPARED TO LEGAL METHODS, FINDING E-BOOKS IS FASTEST
WHEN OBTAINING THEM FROM FRIENDS
How Long Takes to Find e-Books by Method

45%
47% 41%
45% 40% 33%
34%
24%

13% 14% 19% 12%

6% 9% 8% 10%

Downloaded from Obtained from a friend

Purchased via Borrowed from a Cyberlockers, via IM, e-mail, flash
Online Retailer Library Torrents, and/or drive, or a closed
Filesharing Sites internal network
1 2 minutes 3 5 minutes 6 15 minutes Longer
NPD Piracy Digimarc Report
MQ3/MQ5/MQ7/MQ12. How long, on average, would you say it takes you to find the e-book/s you required from the online retailers or a publishers own website that you use/when you borrow
9 them from the public, school or company library you use/from cyberlockers, torrents, online-reading sites, and/or other filesharing sites (e.g., The Pirate Bay, Uploaded.net, or 4Shared.com)/that
are obtained from a friend via IM, e-mail, flash drive, or a closed internal network like Dropbox or other cloud-based systems? Base: By Downloader Type (n varies)
 DOWNLOAD TIMES ARE SIMILAR ACROSS ALL METHODS

How Long it Takes to Download e-Books by Method

44% 39% 40% 43%

27% 24%
31%
29%

21% 21% 21% 17%

5% 13% 15% 8%

Downloaded from Obtained from a friend

Purchased via Borrowed from a Cyberlockers, via IM, e-mail, flash
Online Retailer Library Torrents, and/or drive, or a closed
Filesharing Sites internal network

1 2 minutes 3 5 minutes 6 15 minutes Longer

NPD Piracy Digimarc Report
MQ4/MQ6/MQ8/MQ13. How long, on average, would you say it takes you to download the e-book/s you require from the online retailers or publishers own websites you use/when you borrow
10 them from the public, school or company library you use/from cyberlockers, torrents, online-reading sites, and/or other filesharing sites (e.g., The Pirate Bay, Uploaded.net, or 4Shared.com)/that
are obtained from a friend via IM, e-mail, flash drive, or a closed internal network like Dropbox or other cloud-based systems? Base: By Downloader Type (n varies)
 DEEP DIVE
INTO OBTAINING
E-BOOKS
VIA PUBLIC/OPEN
TORRENT SITE
 WHO ARE TORRENT SITE DOWNLOADERS?

GENDER EDUCATION AGE INCOME

Grade School /
3% 18 - 29 47% Under $30k 14%
Some high (700) (114) (101)
31% Graduated High
(92) 10% 30 - 44 43%
School (142) (91) $30k - $59k 18%
(105) (95)
69%
(104)
Some College 17% 45 - 54 5%
(121) (80)
Graduated $60k - $99k 34%
Male Female 43% 55 - 64 3% (95)
College (115) (75)
Post College
28% 65+ 3% $100k+ 32%
Graduate (68)
(106) (109)

NPD Piracy Digimarc Report

Indices are relative to all illegal downloading respondents
MQ20. Gender / MQ25. Region / SQ1. Age / MQ22. Annual yearly household income
Base: Downloaded from Torrent Sites (301)
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 THIS PROCESS IS DRIVEN BY CONVENIENCE AND EASE

Drivers to Download Illegal e-Books from Torrent Sites

Convenient / easy 58%

Free / cheap 51%

e-Book/s are not available from online retailers 38%

This is how I prefer to acquire e-books 33%

I do not think I should have to pay for content 17%

NPD Piracy Digimarc Report

13 MQ10. Why did you choose to acquire the e-book/s from cyberlockers, torrents, online-reading sites, and/or other filesharing sites (e.g., the Pirate Bay, Uploaded.net, or 4Shared.com)?
Base: Downloaded from Torrent Sites (301)
 AGAIN, ILLEGAL AND LEGAL METHODS ARE SEEN AS BACK UP PLANS

Alternative Methods for Downloading e-Books if Unavailable

I would have

Bought the e-book/s 33%

Downloaded the e-book/s for free from
somewhere else 24%

Bought new or used print book/s 19%

Borrowed the book/s (either in print or digital
form) from a library or a friend 15%

Not acquired the e-book/s at all 8%

Taken another action 1%

NPD Piracy Digimarc Report
MQ9. If you could not have acquired the e-book/s you required from cyberlockers, torrents, online-reading sites, and/or other
14 filesharing sites (e.g., the Pirate Bay, Uploaded.net, or 4Shared.com), which of the following would be most likely?
Base: Downloaded from Torrent Sites (301)
 AGAIN, CONVINCE CONSUMERS THEIR EQUIPMENT IS AT RISK TO DETER

Negative Drivers for Downloading Illegal e-Books from Torrent Sites

Much Less Likely Somewhat Less Likely No Change

If I thought it was putting my equipment at risk by downloading 49% 34% 18%

If I believed I would be caught doing it 47% 30% 23%

If I believed it harmed the author 44% 32% 24%

If it became too technically difficult 37% 39% 24%

If I knew the site was making the e-book available illegally 36% 40% 25%

If the e-book I wanted was available to buy 33% 35% 32%

If e-books were cheaper 32% 35% 34%

NPD Piracy Digimarc Report
MQ11. To what extent would the following reasons make you less likely to download e-books from cyberlockers, torrents, online-
15 reading sites, and/or other filesharing sites (e.g., the Pirate Bay, Uploaded.net, or 4Shared.com)?
Base: Downloaded from Torrent Sites (301)
 4SHARED REIGNS SUPREME OF THE ILLEGAL SITES

Top Sites Used for Illegal Downloading

4shared.com
50%
Uploaded.net 34%
Bookos.org 30%
Book4you.org 29%
Rapidgator.net 28%
Bookzz.org 25%
Uploadable.ch 24%
Blacklib.com 20% On average
Toutbox.fr 19% downloaders use 3.5
websites to download
Goreads.me 19% e-books illegally
Rulit.net 17%
Nakido.com 17%
Chomikuj.pl 13%
Ryushare.com 12%
Other 14%
NPD Piracy Digimarc Report
16 MQ17. Which of the following sites do you use at all to find free e-books?
Base: Downloaded from Torrent Sites (301)
 MOST DOWNLOADING AT LEAST MONTHLY, FICTION MOST POPULAR

Frequency and Type of Books Illegally Downloaded

58%
21% 47%
31% 36% 34% 33% 32%
25% 23%
11%

19% 17%
Fiction Profess- Academic Non- Childrens Academic Christian Other
ional texts fiction books journal books
Daily articles
A few times a year
Weekly
Less often 2.9 genres are illegally downloaded on average
Monthly
NPD Piracy Digimarc Report
MQ18. How frequently would you say you download free e-books from cyberlockers, torrents, online-reading sites, and/or other filesharing sites
(e.g., Pirate Bay, Uploaded.net, or 4Shared.com)? MQ19. Which of the following types of e-books do you generally choose to download for free
17 from cyberlockers, torrents, online-reading sites, and/or other filesharing sites (e.g., Pirate Bay, Uploaded.net, or 4Shared.com)
Base: Downloaded from Torrent Sites (301)
 HEAVY E-BOOK ILLEGAL DOWNLOADERS ARE MORE DRAWN TO
FICTION, LESS DRAWN TO PROFESSIONAL BOOKS
Type of Books Illegally Downloaded

63%
58%
48%
40% 42% 40%
35% 33% 32% 35% 33% 30% 30%
24% 23% 26%

Fiction Professional
Non-fiction Academic
Professional Non-fiction
Academic text Childrens
Children's Academic Christian books
Academic Christian Other books for
Other
texts books books
books journal
journal articles books study purposes
articles

Illegally Downloaded Illegally Downloaded

1 5 e-Books 5+ e-Books
NPD Piracy Digimarc Report
MQ19. Which of the following types of e-books do you generally choose to download for free from cyberlockers, torrents, online-reading sites, and/or other filesharing
18 sites (e.g., Pirate Bay, Uploaded.net, or 4Shared.com)
Base: Illegally Downloaded 1 5 e-Books from Torrent Sites (258), Illegally Downloaded 5+ e-Books from Torrent Sites (43)
 OLDER DOWNLOADERS ACQUIRE MORE NON-FICTION,
PROFESSIONAL TEXTS ARE MOST POPULAR FOR 18 44 YEAR OLDS
Type of Books Illegally Downloaded

60% 58%
57%
50%49%
42% 43% 41%
39%38% 38%
33%
29% 26% 29%
26% 25%24%
20% 19%
16% 16% 13% 10%

Fiction Professional
Non-fiction Academic
Professional Non-fiction
Academic text Childrens
Children's Academic Christian books
Academic Christian Other books for
Other
texts books books
books journal
journal articles books study purposes
articles

18 29 year old 30 44 year old 45+ year old

Illegal Downloaders Illegal Downloaders Illegal Downloaders
NPD Piracy Digimarc Report
MQ19. Which of the following types of e-books do you generally choose to download for free from cyberlockers, torrents, online-reading sites, and/or
19 other filesharing sites (e.g., Pirate Bay, Uploaded.net, or 4Shared.com)
Base: 18 29 year old Illegal Downloaders (141), 30 44 year old Illegal Downloaders (128), 45+ year old Illegal Downloaders (31)
ESTIMATING THE SIZE
OF THE ILLICIT E-BOOK
MARKET
 METHODOLOGY FOR ARRIVING AT ESTIMATE

Source
Total e-Book Purchasing Population Books & Consumers
% of Illegal e-Book Downloaders Piracy Study
Number of Illegal e-Book Downloaders
% of Illegal e-Book Downloaders who would have Piracy Study
Purchased the e-Book Legally
Population who would have Purchased e-Books legally
% of Illegal e-Books Downloaders Via Methods Piracy Study
# of e-Books Downloaded per Method Per Downloader Piracy Study
Total Number of e-Books Illegally Downloaded
Average Price of e-Books Books & Consumers
Total Legal e-Book Sales Lost

21
 ASSUMPTIONS FOR MARKET ESTIMATE

The Books & Consumers Survey interviews representative sample

of book purchasers in the US.
A screener question for the study asks respondents the number of
Total e-book books purchased in the past year by format. 30% of the nationally
Purchasing Population representative sample said they had purchased an e-book in the
past year.
Projecting that up to the total US market, we are assuming that
there are 75M e-books purchasers in a given year.

Based on the number of respondents who qualified for this study,

22% of e-book acquirers were identified as having illegally acquired
% of Illegal e-Book an e-book in the past 12 months.
Purchases Caveat: This figure is based on self-reported illegal downloading.
There is a potential that this figure underrepresents the total
number of illegal downloaders in the US.

22
 ASSUMPTIONS FOR MARKET ESTIMATE

An illegal e-book download is not always directly equivalent to the

loss of a legal e-book purchase.
% of Illegal e-Book While the majority of illegal downloaders said that if they had not
Downloaders who been able to find an e-book using their preferred illegal method, they
would have Purchased would have found it illegally elsewhere, there was still a sizeable
portion who said that they would have purchased the e-book legally.
the e-Book Legally Therefore, we are only considering the population who said that they
would have legally purchased the e-book or 33% of respondents in
the survey.

23
 ASSUMPTIONS FOR MARKET ESTIMATE

For this study, there are three distinct methods for illegally downloading
e-books considered: from open/public cyberlockers, from resale sites
(e.g., eBay), or from friends.
Amongst illegal e-book downloaders, the percent using these methods
are:
Methods for Illegally Downloaded from cyberlockers / torrent sites: 51%
Downloading e-Books Obtained from friends: 45%
Acquired from online auction/resale sites: 27%
Caveat: There are potentially other methods to illegally download e-
books not included in this study. This could have an impact on the actual
number of e-books downloaded.

Illegal downloaders self-reported the number of e-books that they

Number of e-books downloaded in the past 12 months based on the method for
downloaded per downloading.

method Caveat: This figure is self-reported and could under or over estimate the
actual number of e-books they download.

24
 ASSUMPTIONS FOR MARKET ESTIMATE

Using the data collected over the past year for the Books &
Average price of an Consumer study, the point-of-sale e-book price that
e-book consumers pay was calculated.
This price was calculated to be $9.98

25
 MARKET ESTIMATE
Total e-Book Purchasing Population 75,000,000
% of Illegal e-Book Downloaders 22%
Number of Illegal Downloaders 16,500,000
% of Legal e-Book Purchases Lost 33%
# of Legal e-Book Purchases Lost 5,473,875
% of Illegal Downloaders Via Methods Downloaded from Obtained from a Acquired from online
Cyberlockers/ Friend auction / resale site
Torrents

51% 45% 27%

# of e-Books Downloaded per Method Per
Downloader in Past 12 Months
7.14 3.14 2.74
Total Number of Books Illegally Downloaded 31,514,064
Average Price of e-Books $9.98
Total Lost of Sales Due to Illegal
Downloading
~$315,000,000
Note: These figures are assumptions based on the best available data.
26
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